Writer got the religious right wrong

July 28, 2006

Rick Leers (Voice, July 9) accuses the religious right of denying women "the right to their own bodies" by encouraging anti-abortion laws, and "using some perverted sense of religious righteousness as an excuse to do it." He also labels us as "the same people who do not make men pay for the children they bring into the world." In reality, Bible believers are quite eager for deadbeat dads to pay up, and as the old song goes: "It takes two to tango." If women want to stress bodily control, why not do so before a pregnancy is possible? In fact, why give immature men the time of day in the first place? Also, when do we consider the "bodily rights" of the unborn child? Does he or she deserve capital punishment for the irresponsible selfishness of two adults, or even the perverted crime of a rapist? Leers emphasizes the latter, but most abortions result from the former. Either way, the child should eventually decide for himself about the quality of his life, if we really believe in personal rights. When anyone thinks he has a right to live carelessly, and then avoid inconvenient consequences by taking an innocent human life, a civilized person would surely label such thinking as "a perverted sense of righteousness!"

Rex StairsPlymouth

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No principal

I am very concerned about the fact that, as of July 19, our school board has not yet named a principal to Brown Intermediate Center. I was saddened to see them move Edward Bradford out after only two years of doing a wonderful job of turning that school around. He had put together a great team and was ready to do bigger and better things for the students there. With his departure, Alan Bell, the assistant principal, is doing his best to take up the slack. However, with principals starting back to work on July 24, I believe that Brown is at a distinct disadvantage unless a good decision is made soon as the intermediate schools face many changes this year.

Phyllis ShelleySouth Bend

Waste

U.S. Rep. Chris Chocola's whining about ads showing flag-draped military coffins reminds me of Harry Truman's words. When accused of being too critical, Truman said, "I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell." Chocola was never in the military and still supports President Bush's foolish war in Iraq. The White House keeps pictures of military coffins out of the press hoping we'll forget the death and human misery from this debacle. Congressional Republicans call withdrawal "cutting and running." But their policy is "staying, paying and praying," because our troops are there indefinitely, paying with their lives and our country's wealth. And in Michiana we can only pray that Bush and Congress don't bungle the "postwar" war effort anymore. As a veteran and former Army intelligence analyst I believe that the whole mess is outrageous, as are Chocola's votes weakening penalties on defense contractors who overcharge Uncle Sam. Unfortunately, Chocola is in the top 5 percent of House members in getting money ($61,000) from defense contractors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics Web site. Wasted millions may be meaningless to our multimillionaire congressman, but lots of those dollars are needed to rehabilitate and support our brave servicemen and women.

Paul VasquezSouth Bend

Deficit drop

I found it interesting that recently when the federal government announced that the deficit had decreased by about $130 billion, there was so little coverage in the mainstream media. Maybe that's because they didn't want to report that the reason the deficit dropped was because the 2003 tax cuts had actually increased tax revenue for the government. It is important for people to know that keeping taxes lower helps the economy. In this fall's elections, we face serious choices about who will keep our economy growing. That's why I support U.S. Rep. Chris Chocola, R-Bristol. He has always supported keeping the tax rates low on families and small businesses, the engine of our economy.